MEDIA RELEASE: NEW DOCUMENTARY, THE CALLING, FOLLOWS STUDENTS AT ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE IN THE BRONX AND SETS ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT DC/DOX IN JUNE

THE MEDICAL COLLEGE MADE HEADLINES IN FEBRUARY 2024 WHEN IT
RECEIVED A $1 BILLION DOLLAR DONATION FOR FREE TUITION
FROM LONG TIME PROFESSOR, RUTH GOTTESMAN

Oscar®-nominated and Emmy®-winning HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and leading producer and distributor Cineflix Media, along with Emmy®-winning producers American Issues Initiative and First Story Productions announced today that THE CALLING, a documentary set at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, will make its world premiere at DC/DOX on Sunday, June 16, at 3 p.m. ET at Washington D.C.’s Landmark E-Street Cinema. The film is directed by Emmy® and Peabody winner Asako Gladsjo (The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross). It was also produced with additional support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

This announcement comes following news that the school was gifted $1 billion dollars from long-time professor and board member Ruth Gottesman in February 2024. Renowned for its commitment to promoting diversity in medical professions, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine will use the donation to directly benefit its students by paying the full tuition of every student attending the school from August 2024 onward.

THE CALLING tracks the professional and personal experiences of a dynamic and diverse group of medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx over the course of an entire year. Filming inside Einstein and its world class teaching hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, the film chronicles the students’ personal hopes, fears, and incredible growth as they navigate challenging issues, including medical inequity in the American health system.

Tracking back and forth between multiple cohorts of students, audiences are introduced to the characters in the various stages of medical education. As first-year medical students learn to balance the grinding schedule with their lives outside of school, third-year students find out what it’s like to care for and treat patients as they begin their clinical rotations. THE CALLING culminates in the pivotal fourth year, when students balance their clinical rotations with applying for and waiting to hear where they’ll land for their hospital residencies.

“Every student we filmed with, including a few who didn’t end up in the final cut, impressed us with their dedication and brilliance,” says director Asako Gladsjo. “Maybe Einstein attracts a special breed of students; their decision to pursue their medical education in one of America’s most underserved communities proved that they weren’t afraid to face challenges.”

“The pandemic has only served to drive home the urgent need for medical care, especially among the nation’s underserved communities; consequently, our next generation of medical heroes face an even more daunting path to becoming medical doctors,” says Executive Producer Charles Tremayne. “THE CALLING will focus on the intense stories of these students who must balance a spectrum of conflicting emotions while mastering cutting-edge care.”

“The journey of these students is both revelatory and inspiring,” says Head of Tangled Bank Studios Jared Lipworth. “It’s important for both general audiences and aspiring young physicians to see what the medical school experience is actually like, especially at an institution so committed to serving a historically underserved community.”

Principally financed by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Cineflix Media, THE CALLING received additional funding from Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

“We are proud to support the production of THE CALLING, an important documentary that examines the special hurdles faced by BIPOC medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center,” says Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and an Executive Producer for the film. “By highlighting individual stories, this insightful film sheds much-needed light on the disparity in quality and access to medical care for disadvantaged communities, as well as the unique challenges for those members of this community who seek to improve an unfair system.”

“The financial commitment of Sloan along with two other leading foundations is compelling testament to the importance and timeliness of this dramatic story,” says Executive Producer Timothy Smith, who developed the project.

Executive Producers are Timothy Smith for American Issues Initiative (Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook, Surviving West Point), Charles Tremayne for First Story Productions (21 Up America, First 48, Sinking Cities), Wilma L. Davis and Sean B. Carroll for HHMI Tangled Bank Studios (All That Breathes, The Serengeti Rules, The Farthest, Inventing Tomorrow), Doron Weber for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and J.C Mills (Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of the Midnight Cowboy, Summer Qamp) for Cineflix Productions.

Cineflix Productions is co-producing the project as part of Cineflix Media’s partnership with Tremayne and First Story Productions.